Lady Gaga Talks “Telephone” Clip, MTV Confirms Video Not Banned

Three days after Lady Gaga unveiled her epic nine-and-a-half-minute video for “Telephone,” the clip has blown up online, scoring more than 15 million views on YouTube. Gaga is also managing to spark some controversy over the racy clip, which is packed with campy sex and violence: CNN reported this weekend that MTV had banned the clip from its airwaves. But an MTV programming manager clarified the network’s stance on Twitter, saying that the video was airing on MTV’s AMTV, the early-morning slot that runs music videos from 3 a.m. to 9 a.m. A rep for MTV confirms that “Telephone” is in rotation on the channel, telling Rolling Stone, “The CNN report is completely false. The video has been airing on our channel since Friday morning.” MTV said the clip is airing on MTV from 2:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. as well as MTV Hits, MTV Tr3s and MTV.com.

Lady Gaga called in to Ryan Seacrest’s KIIS radio show this morning to discuss her upcoming North American tour and provide some behind-the-scenes info about the “Telephone” mini-movie. Admitting Beyoncé’s first reaction to the treatment was, ” ‘What’s in your head, girl!?’ ” Gaga explained her costar completely surrendered to the concept. “She was very courageous in this video,” Gaga said. “Can you imagine me saying to her, ‘OK, now Beyoncé, you have to call me a very bad girl and feed me a honey bun’? She trusted me because she liked my work and because she knew I loved her. It ended up being a masterpiece.”

But the “Telephone” video isn’t all about sex. Gaga offered details on the clip’s larger meaning, saying she intended the video to be a “commentary on being overfed communication and advertisements and food in this country.” She added, “It became about transsexual women at the beginning of the video and making fun of American hallmarks with soda cans and cigarettes and mayonnaise” and revealed she recalls her own mother using soda cans as hair rollers when she was a kid.

Telling Seacrest she appreciated how the video debut was a pop culture event — it premiered on E! Thursday night with much media fanfare — Gaga said, “I have a vow to myself to desperately serve show business until I die. I believe in it so much, and I’ll have to think of even more exciting ways to do it the next time around.”